Tuesday, 15 December 2009

Roland, a young waster from Nantes, spends his time falling in and out of casual employment, always wishing for something better. While leaving his favourite café, Roland accidentally bumps into Lola, a girl he had known as a teenager. The two exchange pleasantries and arrange to meet that evening at a ‘theatre’, where Roland discovers his childhood friend is now a cabaret dancer and chanteuse. In his lonely, disheartened state, Roland falls badly for Lola, hanging on her every word and arranging further rendezvous. Meanwhile, Lola is engaged in a somewhat lacklustre affair with American sailor Frankie, a poor substitute for Michel, her former lover and father to her son. The unspoken love triangle completely collapses when Michel returns out of the blue, determined to prove himself a decent father.

Director Jacques Demy had originally planned for Lola to be a Technicolor musical (he later found an outlet in The Umbrellas of Cherbourg), but his budget was purportedly so low that he couldn’t even afford a proper sound crew, let alone a roster of flashy musical numbers. The film suffers terribly as a result – by simply removing most of the music to suit his restrictions, Demy accidentally creates a microcosm of disinterest. Save for adolescent gamine Cécile, the characters are unconvincing and one-dimensional without musical exposition. Lola in particular is far less intriguing than she ought to be, her self-indulgent manipulation of men more reprehensible than defensible. Notable in the context of French cinematic history, but of little interest otherwise.

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LOUPE

AUTHOR

Breakfast is an important meal. It sets you up for the day and gives you the required nutrients, no more, no less - it's a square meal. And this, in a way, is what this film review blog is meant to do. No matter what sort of film it is, every review gets exactly 250 words - just enough to get your RDA of plot, background info and critique.

I try my best to watch and review films from all over the place, in the same way I might have French toast one morning, and Coco Pops the next. Anyway, I'll leave you to get stuck in. Feel free to give me feedback, ask me where to find films, tell me off for unfair comments... I'm all ears. Bon appétit!